"I outfitted my boat to perform well on longer trips mixing up various modes of adventures - fishing, shrimping, hiking, skiing, while being simple and reliable. I do 600 ft pulls with 3 shrimp pots a couple times/day, anchor 2-4 times/day with the anchor winch, and just love the boat! ... It does everything I want and handles fabulously! The Sharrow Prop is a revelation in quieter operation - I can run for hours without noise fatigue ... Good times!"
"$35k to $40k total will build you a complete well outfitted fish killing machine! To buy a new comparable all glass or aluminium boat like this will cost you well north of $100k. The pride of ownership of building this yourself is priceless! Not to mention 2-3 times the gas mileage only needing one main motor with kicker for back up. You get a boat that is built to your exact needs, again priceless!"
"Glacier Boats of Alaska designs are not only very competent, state-of-the-art work, but the results are also very pleasing to look at. Perhaps a more important consideration for someone considering building one of the Glacier designs is that the manuals are very well written, and provide not only specific steps, but also good advice and tips on working with plywood, epoxy and fiber glass. An online forum is especially useful as a source of advice, shared building experiences and feedback on how great the boat performs in service in a variety of offshore conditions. You can't go wrong."
"I wanted to say that I have been a woodworker for over 35 years, and I can honestly say I have never followed such precise plans in all that time. After fitting the molds and opening the bottom section I keep waiting to find a flaw that I need to correct. None yet. Well done Brian, I think I made the right choice in choosing the Great Alaskan!"
"We pulled out of Newport Marina yesterday morning and motored up to Depot Bay. I know the reefs in that area very well, and we wanted some blood in the boat. Boated ten Lingcod in about three hours, kept three. Forecast was for 5 second 5-6' swells with 2' wind chop. We drove up early to look before pulling the boat and found 5' swells about 18 seconds no wind whatsoever ... 35 mph out, twenty five mph back...looks like the actual mileage is more like 4-5 mpg. Love the handling, even in the wind! With the over height pilot house, I Was worried about handling in the wind, which proved to be a non issue. I had considered trim tabs, but after almost four hundred miles over the last week, I really don't see the need. The boat to date has exceeded my expectations by far!"
"The boat is very stable and handles well in rough water. Once I have my sea legs, I do fairly well in the cockpit, but I'm not a spring chicken anymore, so I have to be careful! ... All in all, I couldn't be happier with the Great Alaskan's performance. I did spend a little over a week, sleeping in the cuddy and was very comfortable."
"We have been fishing around 55-65 miles offshore in varied conditions. This last trip was rough all day, and a couple of times we took large wind waves broadside while trolling. Everything on the bench seat went on the cabin sole, but nobody got hurt or went overboard which is a good thing! I couldn't be happier with the handling, the hull performance has been excellent in the rough stuff, and very forgiving."
"You are going to like/love your Great Alaskan! After today, I am a total believer!!! The Great Alaskan can handle rough water with ease. In most boats, the offshore conditions would have scared me spitless. Never once felt we were in danger and it was a very mean ocean!"
"We've been going 100+ miles offshore lately, pretty much climbing and surfing the entire way out and back ... This boat handles the rough conditions with ease and we are very happy. Our Suzuki 140 hp is just about right for our 26-footer, lugging a little when turning uphill into the larger waves, but handles it fine and it's great for all other use. We're getting about 3.5 miles per gallon so far."
